The Most Wonderful Feeling in the World
by step-up-to-the-plate
Summary: Lily finally likes James. What will Mary do to make her admit it to his face?


Lily Evans was sitting near the fire in the Gryffindor common room, doing her charms essay. As she sat there, her friend Mary Macdonald sneaked up behind her and watched her write.

Now, Lily was a practical person and she knew that James Potter had been after her for several years now. She also knew that it would NOT be practical to admit to liking him as well, especially since she had now been turning him down for almost three years. So she expressed herself in the most discreet ways possible. Small hearts drawn in mid-air by her long fingers. The letters J.P. written on her essays, later to be magically wiped blank. Sometimes even the words _Lily Potter_ were found on the shower glass in the girls bathroom.

So, as Lily sat there, seemingly doing her Charms essay, Mary Macdonald snuck up and saw what she was _**REALLY**_ doing. There, clearly in ink for the whole world to see was a heart with the text _L.E. and J.P. Forever_. Mary knew that Lily had started to be nicer and warmer towards James, yet she had never suspected that Lily had harbored such feelings. So she gently gave a little cough.

Lily jumped at the familiar sound and hastily tried to wipe the parchment blank. She turned to Mary and stated "You never saw that". She was blushing such a rich red color that she could have rivaled a ripe tomato. Mary started giggling uncontrollably.

"I think I did", she managed to get out.

"Well, you must have seen wrong", said Lily defiantly.

"Oh, come on Lils. Everyone knows that he's liked you since he first set eyes on you. It's only natural for you to start liking him back sooner or later."

" It's not only about that! He'll dump me as soon as we get together! If we even get together", she added in an undertone."

"Oh please. You know that isn't true. He's been after you for years Lily! He's got to have some major feelings for you if he's put up with your temper and stubbornness for that long."

Mary sighed. She could be so stubborn at times! "Fine. You have three days to tell him yourself. After that, I'll take things into my own hands."

The first day, Lily was too scared to even approach James. She kept quietly to herself all day long, causing some of the teachers to think that she was not feeling that well. She even stayed quiet when she found out that she had gotten an E in Charms! Mary started to refer to her new-found quietness as "James Disease".

The second day, Lily approached James and started to say,

"James, you know—"

"Yes, Lily, I know we have Heads duties tonight, no need to remind me. We've been at this for what, six weeks now? I know."

"Right, you see…" started Lily again.

"Yes? What?", urged James.

"I—Never mind", said Lily, her courage failing her.

"Okay, see you tonight at seven", said James.

"Er…Why?",asked Lily, still preoccupied with her own thoughts.

"Um…Heads duties. Remember?", said a confused James.

"Hmmm? Oh, right.", this startled Lily out of her own thoughts.

As James walked away, Lily could have slapped herself for being such an idiot.

The final day, Mary approached Lily who seemed to be distracted.

"Lily, you know that this is your last day right?, she asked.

"Yes, I know.", stated Lily simply. And with this, she walked away.

At the end of the day, Mary confronted Lily again. They were in the Gryffindor common room, seemingly alone.

"Lily, your time is up. Have you told James or not?", demanded Mary.

"Nnnooo…",said Lily.

"So that means the honors of telling him go to me!", exclaimed Mary.

"Why do you insist on trying to get me and him together? It's not like our lives are like fairytales and that we'll all end up living 'happily ever after'. My life is fine without all this drama! If James and I DO end up together, he'll just dump me for some ditzy blonde! Why go through the trouble when I'll just suffer more in the long run?!"

A quiet voice behind them spoke up.

"Is that what you really think of me?", asked the voice with a hint of anger.

The two of them turned. James was standing there, shirtless, leaning against the wall.

"Obviously you didn't expect my company tonight. I was just going to go upstairs to finish up my homework and I heard my name come out of your mouth, miss Lily. Naturally, I couldn't resist eavesdropping. If that's what you really think of me, Lily, maybe I put my trust in the wrong person. Maybe my intentions weren't clear enough. Maybe you're just so caught up in the past that you didn't even bother to judge my new character."

Lily just sat there. She knew that he was right, she knew that she deserved this little "lecture", and yet, she could not marvel at the fact that James said all of this with unnerving calmness.

"I think that I'll slide out of this", said Mary. She left the common room.

Lily stared at James. He stared right back. "I'm sorry", she finally whispered. "I should have known that it would come to this."

"What do you mean?", asked James, taken aback.

"That you would find out eventually, and then I would…"

"What?"

"Realize that I had fallen in love with you", finished Lily.

"What? I could swear that I just heard you say that you were in love with me…" James trailed off as he saw that Lily was nodding. For a moment, he said nothing. Then, he swooped down and picked her up. He looked at her for another moment, leaned down…and kissed her.

For him, it felt like a miraculous dream. Lily Evans had finally fallen for the Potter charm. For a while, she was too shocked to respond. As soon as she got over the shock however, she started to kiss him back. It was the most wonderful felling in the world.


End file.
